We’re back with the fourth installment of PulseCheck, a new way for us to check in regularly with you and the broader THWACK community. Every two weeks, we’ll post a question on a topic that matters to IT pros. Sometimes serious, sometimes light, but always focused on capturing your perspective. We’ve slightly adjusted our schedule as we planned for downtime, which is now resolved.
If you’re new to PulseCheck, here’s how it works. Each poll is open for just under two weeks. Once it wraps, we’ll post the results, share some of the themes from the discussion, and introduce the next question. You’ll earn 150 THWACK points just for voting, and if you leave a comment that sparks conversation, you could be awarded an additional 300 points. If you participate in eight or more PulseChecks, you’ll unlock a limited-edition achievement badge.
If you’ve worked in IT long enough, you’ve probably seen some wild server nicknames. They become legends, passed down like folklore from one sysadmin to the next. What’s the weirdest nickname your team has ever given a server or system? Pick the category that fits best, and tell us the name in the comments!
"A server nickname tells me a lot about your IT department. Mostly, how much fun are you having? Generally, I’ve noticed there’s a theme going on, like TV shows, superheroes, Marvel villains, video game heroes, etc. Some of my favorites have been fictional places, i.e., Krypton, Narnia, Hogwarts, etc. Tell us the weirdest nickname your team has given a system in the comments below. "
ChrystalT
Our previous PulseCheck asked the question: Friday changes: brave or banned in your IT world?
The verdict was clear: most of you prefer to play it safe. With 37.5% of the votes, the top choice was "Strongly discouraged. Only in emergencies." This was followed by "It depends. Small changes, maybe," which received 29.2% of the vote. Only a small portion of the community, 8.3% of you, said that Friday was a "Preferred day" for changes.
Your comments echoed the cautious sentiment. Many of you pointed out that Friday changes are a high-risk gamble that can easily turn a quiet weekend into a stressful one. As one member put it, Friday changes are "like skydiving—you either land smoothly and feel like a hero… or you’re freefalling into a weekend of chaos." The general consensus seems to be that unless it's a "life or death" fix, it can wait until Monday.
While many of you noted that you have specific change control policies or meetings (like a Wednesday morning CAB) that prevent unplanned changes, others said that you simply have a personal policy of "read only Fridays." One member shared a cautionary tale of a seemingly simple Friday change that brought down a database over a holiday weekend, solidifying their own personal rule to never do changes on Fridays unless it's an emergency.
Ultimately, while some teams see Fridays as an opportunity for quieter rollouts with fewer users, the majority of the community agrees that the potential for a weekend of chaos is just not worth the risk.
